A host of other communication technologies have been developed by the mankind, starting from smoke signals and wireless telegraphs to satellite radios. Development has typically extended the range of communications and increased the quality and speed of communications. Sometimes, speed and power efficiency have been prioritized over range and new, shorter range techniques have been designed for more local communications. Bluetooth, wireless local area network and near field communication are such techniques, with near field communication being intended for short ranges. For instance, bus tickets can be ready by touching or placing a near field communication enabled ticket near a reader device.
The increase of alternatives has increased choice and helped to solve many technical problems but also brought about all new questions and problems to solve.